Music in Black & White

When I moved from Florida, I swore I'd never leave my music behind. But in the end, I had to leave my sound system and the hundreds of CD's that shuffled their way through my life on a daily basis. We just ran out of room in the car...it was take the sound system or take the cats... Guess I don't need to tell you which won, do I?

I thought I'd be okay without it. I had a handful of CD's in the car and a small alarm clock with a CD player on it. But, it just wasn't the same as hitting the "ON" button and having a day of endless music. Tim and Mandy both offered to pack up the system and the CD's but I was afraid they'd be broken or lost in transit so I declined. (All the while pining away for "my music")

Since moving here in September, Tim has only been up to visit a couple of times. He was here shortly before Thanksgiving and then again in January. Christmas came and went with not so much as a card let alone a gift - but that has been par for the course from him in the past few years so I was not surprised... Alright, I admit I was more than a little disappointed.

But, little did I know that he was bringing a surprise with him on the January visit. That said, I'll bet you think the surprise was my sound system and CD's, don't you? Wrong! He flew this time so there was no way he could bring all that.

Not in the door more than five minutes and hurrying to open his suitcase, Tim announced he had something he wanted me to see. I never dreamed it would be a gift of any sort - and especially one that would bring such joy! Handing me a small black box and a smaller white box, he stood back and watched.

I opened the black box first and had absolutely no clue what it was... I could tell this tickled him to no end. He had me guessing and he loved every minute of it. After opening the smaller white box, I recognized it and concluded that the black box must have something to do with the contents of the white box.

He had given me the gift of music - one that I could make "mine all mine" just as those CD's in the shuffler at the condo in Naples were. The small white box held an iPod (not that I had ever given one more than a passing glance). The black box was, in fact, a sound system for the iPod should one want to play it indoors. Should one want to play it indoors? Of course one (well, THIS ONE) wants to play it indoors!

And so, after more than four months without 'my music' I am finally able to enjoy it once again. Using the iPod gift card that was tucked in the black box, I have loaded many selections onto this amazing little gizmo that packs a wallop of a stereo sound. My days and nights are filled with 'my music' - the music that relaxes me, the music that stirs my creative energies, the music that makes home sound like home...the music that serenades me as I write this...


.......... Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
~ Berthold Auerbach